Eustis commissioners try to grab power about where commercial growth should go

August 19, 2014|Lauren Ritchie, COMMENTARY

Eustis carefully and methodically developed the most progressive of rules about growth and land use in Central Florida.

The plan went through dozens of hearings, reviews, approvals, revisions and consultants over a period of more than five years. Then the city spent $1.5 million defending its plan from one particularly aggressive Orlando developer.

Now that the long, painstaking process is said and done, commissioners on Thursday are poised to throw it all out the window with a single particularly foolish ordinance.

Never again, if it's passed, can a person who buys a house in the city limits be certain that a 7-Eleven or pawn shop won't be built next door.

The ordinance is written in standard planning-speak. But basically it's designed to allow virtually any type of commercial operation anywhere in the city, including residential areas, provided it's part of a bureaucratic creature called a "planned unit development."

And there aren't rules under this ordinance governing when such commercial development can and can't be built.

What city officials have been telling commissioners to smooth this through is that they retain the authority to say no. And, indeed, they do — sort of. But if commissioners say no, watch for the very first developer to march into court and sue, claiming that the city has taken away his rights. And chances are good the developer will win because the commission will have done precisely that.

But let's step back just a moment and take a breath.

Ask yourself: What is the point of written rules for managing growth? The answer is to eliminate arbitrary rulings from elected government officials susceptible to pressure from powerful developers — or, on the flip side, susceptible to badgering from rooms filled with angry residents. It goes both ways.

That's because property rights extend both ways, a concept that this commission doesn't seem to comprehend. Property owners should have reasonable rights to do what they want with their land, but people who own property nearby also have rights to live quietly and not have their land value reduced by their neighbors. That's what living inside city limits is all about — it's a cooperative venture. And that's why cities have growth rules.

"Systematically, one step at a time, one ordinance at a time, they're undermining their comprehensive plan," said Dan Langley, who represents citizens who want to keep the land-use regulations intact. "Why do you even have this land-use provision if potentially anything goes?"

The change in where developers can put the likes of tattoo parlors and check-cashing services can be viewed in another way, too — as a power grab by Eustis commissioners.

If they approve this ordinance during the meeting that begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, they will be burying the rules and handing themselves the power to decide where commercial development should go. Now, the rules dictate where commercial operations can be built. If commissioners pass this ordinance, they alone will have the power. Does anyone in Eustis want to trust their future to this particular elected crew — and whoever might follow them? Now, there's a scary thought.

Each time there's a request to put commercial in a residential area, there's the potential for a big public battle. Is that really a smart or efficient way to run government? It is not.

Commissioners have tried to hide behind the excuse that they are just trying to stimulate economic development. This is bogus. There are plenty of places already designated for economic development. Not to mention already-built, empty stores and industrial areas.

The folks on this governing body ought to be spending their time figuring out how to fill those empty buildings with businesses instead of passing ordinances that will only create chaos and erode a well-done comprehensive plan.